The present invention relates to a suction retractor for use during surgery, particularly lumbar spinal disc surgery.
During lumbar spinal surgery, the surgeon typically uses a suction tube (e.g. a #8 Frazier disposable sucker) in the open incision. In order to extract disc fragments from the spine, the nerve root usually must be retracted. Because it is often difficult for a surgical assistant to have a sufficient view of the wound, the surgeon will perform the retraction and extraction without assistance by using the suction tube in one hand to gently retract the nerve root, and use a pituitary rongeur in the other hand to extract the disc fragments.
While this procedure works satisfactorily in the vast majority of cases, it can happen that because the suction tip is round, the nerve root will slip over the suction tip. If this happens, the nerve root may catch in the suction tip, thereby inadvertently traumatizing the nerve root. To some extent, the William's suction retractor (Codman, Randolph, Mass.) with a fixed blade a few millimeters from the suction tip has been helpful in preventing this complication. However, the fixed blade forces the surgeon to accommodate to the fixed angle of retraction, rather than the other way around.